playntheblues Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I have pretty much decided to upgrade my Cayin to a Wright sound, system. I can't afford to buy everything at once. So.......If I sold my Cayin and bought a Wright pre amp. and bought a CHEAP ($2-400.00) SS amp.. Such as the Scott nixon 20watt monos or an old used carver, Dynaco etc. etc.. Do you think the Wright pre amp. would make up the difference sound wise while I put the rest of the money together to buy the Wright monos? Any thoughts on what might be a VERY CHEAP SS amp. that would bridge the gap for a couple of months? I am hoping that in pairing it up with the Wright Pre amp. I will still have a good sounding system in the interim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 If you sold the Cayin, I might be interested in purchasing it... I'm local (Grand Prairie). Home Theater: Denon AVR-4800, Chorus II, KLF-C7, Def Tech BP2X, Def Tech PF15TL+, Sony DVP-S5500. 2-Channel: Carver 6250, Cornwalls (1976), Sony CDP-102. Other misc: Pioneer SX-3800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 The Cayin is a great little tube amp. Why not just MOD out what you have. You can run the EL34 in Triode mode, lower the plate voltage and add a pot for adding and subtracting negative feedback. I've done a few or these with great results. There is no need to spend money on new caps and resistors. For 300.00 that little Cayin can sound as good as any amp under 2k. With your Klipsch speakers you only need a few watts to run them at ear bleeding levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Ditto...modding the TA-30 could definately improve your investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I am using my TA 30 as a amp and using it with a Luxman preamp. Using the Luxman preamp really improved the sound so you might find a good preamp and then if the sound is still not what you want get the new amp. InventiveAudio.com how hard would it be to do the upgrades? I have no electronics experience and what would be the benefits of the upgrades? Xman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 They Cayin Amp you have is plenty good stock. If you want a better soundstage and sweeeter sound I would suggest that you let us re-wire it so that the EL34 tubes runs in triode mode instead of Pentode mode. The EL34 is not a true triode but can be wired in that configuraton. You'll give up some power for sonics. Triode mode uses less voltage and we can remove all the negative feedback taht maes a tube amp sound sterile. There is plenty of NFB used in the Cayin amp. We'd install a knob that would allow you to add or remove the amount of negative feedback and then you could tailor the amp's sonic signature to the type of music you're listening too and your own preferences. I would also remove a few questionable caps in that amp. If you wanted we could also install a toggle to allow you to switch from triode to pentode mode. Let me know if you're interested. When we were done with your amp it would sound more like a SE amp and less like a SS amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 "When we were done with your amp it would sound more like a SE amp and less like a SS amp." God forbid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Well at least he's giving fair warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellofavalve Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Are the Cayin SET amps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Cayin sells SET amps but the TA-30 is a PP amplifier. I've listened to a lot of amps both tube and SS. I always seem to like the sound of the lower powered SET amp with no negative feedback. But there are many variables. Circuit design, OPT's used, tubes, etc. What is it that you don't like about the TA-30? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I like it just fine actually, I heard one some months ago and was pretty impressed with the level of transparency. I'm on the other end of the spectrum from where you are. I prefer push-pull amps with between 30 and 60 watts using moderate to high amounts of feedback. However, my music tastes and listening habits both tend toward the heavy side, so this probably accounts for my preference. I like tube amps that can do most of the things good solid state brings to the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 The Cayin is not a Pentode amp its a Ultra Linear. Ultra Linear gives you most of the sound of triode operation and most of the power of pentode. A excellent compromised IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InventiveAudio.com Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 True but the EL34 is a true Pentode tube which can also run in Triode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 All pentodes can be run wired in Triode. But just wiring the output tubes in Triode will not always benefit the sound. The front end and feedback will also require adjustments for optimum performance in almost all cases. Ultra linear is in my opinion the best of both worlds unless the amp just simple has tons of reserve that you will never use. With the Cayin this is not the case when driving a full range speaker IMHO now if the setup is a Bi Amp then .......... Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2N3055 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 ---------------- On 9/1/2004 3:09:14 PM InventiveAudio.com wrote: True but the EL34 is a true Pentode tube which can also run in Triode. ---------------- Yes, but if you wire an EL34 to run as a Triode in an amplifier that was designed for pentode operation, the output impedance of the Triode wired EL34's will be much less than if they were wired for Pentode operation. The output transformer primary impedance would no longer match the load. This would result in a severe drop in output power, not to mention the drop from the pentode to triode conversion. The only way to overcome such an impedance mismatch would be to connect the speaker to the next highest impedance (8 Ohm speaker to 16 Ohm tap, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 The power output difference is about the same in all amps when connecting the output tunes in triode. It cuts the output power roughly in half. I see no reason why changing the tap you connect the speakers to would change this in any way different then it would in Ultra linear, Pentode or Triode but I have never thought to try it. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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